The Old Welland Canals Field Guide

Lock 4 - Third Welland Canal

Introduction/History

Today the north end of St. Catharines, the area between downtown St. Catharines and Lake Ontario, is a fully developed residential area. This wasn't always the case; just 70 years ago the area was still mostly farmland.

From 1881 - 1932 the area was also the route of the Third Welland Canal as it left Port Dalhousie and headed southeast across the north end of St. Catharines toward the Niagara escarpment.

Considering the size of the Third Welland Canal, it's difficult to believe there are so few signs that the canal once crossed the city. The process of cleaning up the channel started after the Fourth Welland Canal started operating in 1933. By the 1960's only the section closest to Port Dalhousie was left untouched but was increasingly at risk as urban development spread north toward Lake Ontario.

In the end about 1 km of the Third Welland Canal the section closest to Port Dalhousie escaped complete landscaping. It's here that several historical landmarks including Locks 2 and 4 of the Third Welland Canal are still visible to go look at.

The rest of the channel, while filled in and landscaped over can still be seen on maps and overhead photos of St. Catharines. The photo below is a good example. You can see the route of the old Third Welland Canal by paying attention to the streets, parks and other properties that line up along it's route from the top left to the bottom right of the photo.

Path of the Third Welland Canal across St. Catharines. (Click to enlarge)

Walking Tour

Since the channel is mostly forgotten, I decided to walk its length to see what effect the 3rd Welland Canal still had on the city. Granted this may be one of the more unusual walking tours but it was still interesting to see what I came up with. Because of the length I divided the tour into seven sections based on major streets crossed by the canal.

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